The Batman: Arkham City prequel comic is a great direct lead-in to the game. Like Road to Arkham walked you right up to the start of Batman: Arkham Asylum, the City comic does a fantastic job of getting you ready to dive into the game that shares its name.

The strongest point of this work is how Dr. Hugo Strange is set up to be an intellectually equal opponent to Batman. Using both mayor Quincy Sharp and the Trask brother and sister to push Gotham to not only accept martial law but the building of Arkham City shows Strange as a master of getting events to head in the direction he wants them to go.

Strange’s machinations almost wipe out the Dark Knight, but thanks to Catwoman’s unlooked-for rescue he’s able to survive. Here again we see Dr. Strange’s obsession and study of Batman, almost catching him for the last time.

I enjoyed how Strange knew that Batman would come and search through Mayor Sharp’s files to try to find out more about him, then next simply observing Bruce’s movement as he infiltrated both Joker and Penguin’s gangs. Studying an opponent to find a weakness is something we’ve seen the Dark Knight do again and again, so here we see how Hugo’s methods stack up – they stack up well.

There are other details that add to the story; Harley Quinn saving the Joker from guards who wanted revenge, the perspective of the Joker that they “got in” to Arkham first and could set up a new criminal enterprise unencumbered, etc. These points give us more insight into everyone’s head and where things are headed.

Strange gets the final word in the last issue (“Exposure”) however, and it’s fitting as he lays out his strategy and the current state of the Arkham-verse going through each of the other players in the drama, how their goals (and indeed their persons) are inferior to his, and how Batman is his only real opponent:

Only you are capable of comprehending the true stakes of this life and death game.

Hugo Strange’s summation is the perfect send-off for this story and setup for the next one. Well done.

Batman: Arkham City End Game has been the most rewarding of the extended storied around the Arkham-verse that I’ve read. The art style and story shine and add to the overall Arkham experience by not just giving you more to know about the characters, but by making you feel more for them as well.

With how many twists Arkham City had and how devious the Joker had been set up to be this comic had to be written in order to show that the he was actually gone. And how is that final end portrayed?

Image courtesy of IGN

There’s only one way to go to make sure someone’s really dead – incinerator.

The art style – more than the other Arkham comics I’ve read – has an impact on the mood of the story, giving it a mystical and solemn vibe. Continue reading →

I’m marching towards Batman: Arkham Knight and before playing it I want to wrap up any extended lore from the previous games. First up, the Arkham Unhinged comic book series.

There are 58 issues is all and the canonization is a bit fuzzy as things don’t always match up with the games but I think there are elements that can be mined to enhance one’s experience of the Batman Arkham series.

Unhinged has been described as a prequel but it goes all over the all place. While this makes it Continue reading →

This is the sixth and final entry on my play through of Batman: Arkham City. Be ye warned that there will be spoilers for as far as I’ve played and please avoid spoilers for me if you have any comments concerning future segments of the game

Since the Joker’s death at the end of Arkham City, Harley Quinn has been grieving in her own way by taking over the gang and planning a trap for the Dark Knight.

Grieving her own way

While being even more silent then usual at the conclusion of City proper, neither Robin or Oracle has heard from Batman since he went into the Joker’s recent haunts to stop whatever Quinn was up to. Continue reading →

This is the fourth entry on my play through of Batman: Arkham City. Be ye warned that there will be spoilers for as far as I’ve played and please avoid spoilers for me if you have any comments concerning future segments of the game

Nine Lives

Catwoman’s portion of the game continues to be fun to play; the fact that the game lets you choose whether to help Batman or not was a nice touch.

Breaking into the vault was a nice set piece and I laughed when she destroyed Poison Ivy’s plant – I didn’t expect it, and score another point for Rocksteady when it comes to letting these character’s personalities shine through.

The Two-Face battle at the end took me longer then it should have since I didn’t realize the guards kept repopulating; it seems not matter how many games I play I usually miss the obvious.

Catwoman’s music also offers a nice change of page and I feel reflects her character’s playfulness. In Batman you’ve all the brooding you can take, so the light notes that play during her sequences remind you that there’s another way to look at the events unfolding around you.

a different perspective, and fun to play

Story-Behind-The-Story

Joker’s speech in the TV – he talks again of hiding a secret, something right in front of the Dark Knight. What is it?

This is the third entry on my play through of Batman: Arkham City. Be ye warned that there will be spoilers for as far as I’ve played and please avoid spoilers for me if you have any comments concerning future segments of the game

I continue to be amazed at how much Batman there is in this game. If you were someone new to the Dark Knight’s now seventy-seven year public history, you could play this game and get it – get what Batman is all about, from the characters to locations and motivations driving everyone forward. It’s great stuff.

Gang Related

The way the gang activity is portrayed throughout the story is well done. The chatter of the thugs gives you a ground up perspective of the events you are reacting to, and enhances the environment around you by giving it more history (if even very recent history).

This is the second entry on my play through of Batman: Arkham City. Be ye warned that there will be spoilers for as far as I’ve played and please avoid spoilersfor me if you have any comments concerning future segments of the game

Environmental Proceedings

The more I play the game the more the environment draws me in; the ambient sounds and moody visuals all add up to an experience that continues to draw me further in with each moment.

A list of some of these:

The snow fall and the way it sticks to Batman’s cape

Criminal walkie-talkie chatter

Intermittent police sirens

Lighting and position of the moon

TYGER helicopter giving a play-by-play of me beating up street thugs and other guard chatter

Each of these examples, while not a main point in the story, all enhance the story even if I’m not consciously aware of them at the time.